Challenging Fate
by Sophita
Summary: A newly resurrected Kazuya Mishima searches for his son, Jin to form an alliance against Heihachi Mishima. Meanwhile, Heihachi Mishima puts his plan to capture the devil gene into action...
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Wow, it's been a long while. As you've noticed, this fic is updated very slowly, if at all. To be honest, I'm pretty much fighting the urge to take it down. This was my very first fic, and well...I don't think it's very good. I learned a lot about writing while I was writing it, but there's a lot of mistakes in here, and while I still like the storyline I was writing, I'm not sure if I'll ever finish this. I will certainly attempt to, but part of me wants to throw this out and rewrite the whole thing. More than likely I'll wind up doing a mix of the two. I will finish this story...but I'm not sure if I'll finish it in this fanfic.  
  
Chapter Rating: PG-13, for minor cursing and general Tekken storyline information.  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! All reviews appreciated, especially constructive criticism.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Tekken universe, Namco does. Please don't sue me; I assure you I have nothing worth suing for.  
  
"When you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss stares back into you."- Frederick Nietzsche  
  
Kazuya Mishima stood over a tall, foreboding cliff. It had not changed since he had been here last, some 20 years ago. The jagged rocks were every bit as intimidating as they were when he first saw them nearly 45 years prior, and the large, colorful bed of flowers still lay in the valley below. While the outside world had changed much after his death, this small escape was relatively unchanged.  
  
Turning slightly, he smirked at the hazy form of the active volcano only a few miles away. Oh, how he hated that volcano. He had died there, once, at the hands of the old man...His father. He could recall now that this is where he had stopped just before that fateful match with that bastard.  
  
Ah yes, Heihachi. He still had not yet paid the old man back for his lovely volcanic bath all those years ago. Years of cruel torture at Heihachi's hands had left him without even a shred of compassion for the man, much less any guilt or sadness for killing his father.  
  
Indeed, Heihachi's death was all that Kazuya had wanted in life for quite some time now. He had thought of almost nothing else since the incident near on this cliff over 40 years ago, and he had sacrificed much to get it- life, friends, family, love...His whole life was devoted to the moment when his father would finally die at his son's hands. Kazuya had even sold his soul for the strength to kill his father. His desire for patricide was so strong, not even the loss of his spirit had been able to deter him.  
  
Over the years, he had come to realize that this had been a foolish trade. He was constantly at war with the demon inside of him. Though they both desired the same goal, the demon sought to take over Kazuya completely, and in effect reduce him as nothing more than a puppet whose strings the demon could pull at will.  
  
By the time he had finally managed to send his father down this damned cliff, the demon had almost fully taken control of his body. It was only thanks to Jun that the devil had been sealed away in his soul.  
  
Jun...he had not thought of her in a long while.  
  
He didn't know what the emotion he felt for her was, truly, but he knew he did not want any harm to come to her. He had not gone back to her when he was resurrected...It was better she thought him dead, so she would not be harmed by his numerous enemies, or, worse, his family. But...his actions had been in vain, he supposed. He had received word of her death nearly 7 years ago, recognizing her name on a report about the victims of a supposed mysterious fighting god.  
  
Kazuya paused his reverie to light a cigarette. He had never been much of a smoker, had as a matter of fact hated the addiction, hated to watch his brother light up, but lately, he had felt differently about this supposed "filthy habit."  
  
He smirked. It was not long ago he was throwing his brother across the room for this very same act. Brother...Lee. Whatever had happened to Lee? He could not imagine him staying with the old man-Heihachi did NOT tolerate failure or betrayal; and Lee had most certainly done both to Heihachi. He could not imagine Lee being killed, but escape from Heihachi was doubtful- sooner or later, the old man caught up with you. Lee had not, he had noticed, entered the last King of the Iron Fist. Few had returned, nearly 20 years after the previous tournament.  
  
He frowned as he remembered the reports of previous King of the Iron Fist. He had hoped to see some older fighters there whom he would still hold influence with when he eventually chose to return to the world, but he was dismayed to see that, of the top fighters, few were identifiable. The ever fiery, bold Paul Phoenix was easily visible of course. No one else would ever have hat ...thing he called his hair. The Williams' sisters had been there as well, somehow escaping the cold sleep he had ordered them put into so many years ago. And of course, that damn detective, Lei Wulong, was there, still the obnoxious do-gooder Kazuya remembered. But none of those people held much importance for Kazuya, none of them could be of any help to him, and most would only get in the way.  
  
Of the new blood in the tournament, there had been little worth seeing. There had, however, been one youth who had impressed him, and piqued his curiosity-Jin Kazama. His own son, he noted with pride. But the boy had been a mystery to him-His son had resembled him greatly, there was no way to hide the fact that the child was a Mishima, despite his last name. But the child had competed, and had done well, advanced to the semi-finals, in fact. He obviously had his father's strength and his mother's speed. Kazuya had watched tapes of his son fighting, and noted that while his son used a few techniques he had recognized as Jun's unique style of self defense, his style was predominantly advanced Mishima Karate. That disturbed him. His son had evidently been training with his grandfather. Kazuya wondered if Jun had told his son how his father had met his "demise." He could not imagine Jun willingly sending Jin to Heihachi- Jun had been horrified as he had confessed to her why he wanted to kill Heihachi, why he had given up everything for this goal. Jun was a loving woman, she surely could not have sent her son to suffer his father's fate unless she had been downright delirious. Perhaps she had not told the boy the sad tale, and the boy had merely ran into the arms of the first relative he had recognized the name of when he found his mother dead. After all, the child had been a mere teenager, and was certainly not ready to face the trials of life alone yet. Heihachi would recognize Jin as his grandson, and, if the boy had truly been that naïve, Heihachi would not hesitate to use Jin to his own means, and destroy him afterwards. It was doubtful his father would let Jin live once he had fulfilled his use-He had learned his lesson by letting both Kazuya and Lee live years ago, a mistake his father would never repeat again.  
  
What had Heihachi done with his child? The third tournament had ended mysteriously, and his son had disappeared. There had been no winner. Due to the emergence of the fighting god, Toshin, Heihachi had canceled the tournament. The boy had placed tops in the main competition and was in the semi-finals, along with the repugnant Paul Phoenix. But the tournament had been canceled, and everyone had gone home....except his son. He noted that since then, there had been no attacks. Whatever happened in the last hours of that tournament, the toshin was dead.  
  
He knew his son was still alive, his informants had spotted the child twice in Australia. But the boy was no longer associating with his grandfather, and seemed to live life on the run. He had been living under an alias, and the child had never been seen without some sort of covering to disguise himself. His informants hadn't even recognized him at first, and they were the best money could buy. His son and his father had evidently had quite the falling out.  
  
Which could be useful to Kazuya. If the boy was going to go against Heihachi, he could be a valuable ally to him. His child was strong, no doubt. But if Jin did not want any part of his father's plan, then the boy was a risk. He would have to be defeated. It would be far more productive if the child actually went along with his plan. However, he would have to speak to his son before the Mishima Zaibatsu got to him, and before the son heard the rumors of Kazuya's resurrection.  
  
And most importantly of all, before the tournament. He knew his son would enter-The fourth tourament was a ruse to get Jin to enter just as much as it was to get Kazuya to-but by then the boy would feel Kazuya was his enemy, too. Kazuya was well known as a loner, and he knew all to well how he would be described, the press would depict him as the demonic killer who had come to reap vengeance upon all the fighters he encountered, and several of his more loudmouthed opponents wouldn't be too shy on spreading rumors of his ruthlessness, either. His son would feel that any offer from Kazuya was not one that would be kept on Kazuya's end of the bargain.  
  
That meant his son wouldn't accept, and if his son did not accept he would have to be ...detained, at least until the tournament ended. That would be a large difficulty that he would rather avoid, if possible. Therefore, he had to meet his son. He knew his son had recently come back to Japan, which meant he was going for the tournament too. His informants had confirmed the boy was heading towards Yakushima, which meant that Jin was returning to his childhood home.  
  
There was only one option. He would have to be waiting in Yakushima for his son. With that thought in mind, he walked away from the hazy form of the volcano, away from the cliff that had brought all this upon him, away from the the hated memories of his family, and headed out towards Yakushima, towards his future, and towards his fate. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Rating: PG-13 for mild violence.  
  
"Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms."-Andrew Jackson  
  
Jin Kazama walked up the mountains of his youth, surprised at how apprehensive he was feeling. He should be glad to be here in his childhood home and relieved that he had managed to slip back into Japan relatively unseen-but instead, he was uneasy. He frowned. He should be at peace, but something here felt horribly, horribly wrong..  
  
Then again, for the past two years Jin had often felt uneasy. In that time, he had been in Australia, training in the more traditional style of Karate, and unlearning the Mishima-style of martial arts his grandfather Heihachi had taught him.  
  
Grandfather...Oh, how HIS betrayal still stung. He had trusted Heihachi totally, and to know that his forefather had been planning to kill him all along for the cursed "gift" that ran through his veins was unbearable. Jin had come to know Heihachi as family, as his only family-which made the deception sting that much harder. How he reached out his hand begging for his grandfather's help, and how Heihachi had looked into his eyes, and, without even the slightest bit of hesitation, shot Jin. Jin would certainly not have survived if not for the "demon" inside of him. He still was frightened by the being he became.  
  
Truth be told, it would be a long time before he could fully remember any of the events after his grandfather shooting him. But then slowly, painfully, and with aching clarity, he could remember it all. He remembered killing the Tekkenshu soldiers; breaking every bone in their bodies easily in no more than a few seconds time. He remembered his grandfather's expression of both horror and surprise. He remembered picking a stunned Heihachi up, diving through the wall, and plunging to the ground, intent on killing Heihachi. After that, he had flown, not quite sure where he was going, not quite sure what to do.  
  
He had wandered aimlessly for weeks, unable to cope with Heihachi's treachery, what he had done, and most importantly, what he had become. In time, he learned how to control his "powers"-He would never allow himself to transform into the demon again. He would keep himself calm and relaxed. And he would eliminate the only two beings that threatened that peace.  
  
First, there was Heihachi. Jin knew the old man was seeking him out for some reason, and had become desperate enough to call a fourth King of Iron Fist tournament to get Jin. Soon, Jin would be able to pay Heihachi back for his betrayal. He looked forward to the day he would beat Heihachi, look him square in the face, as Heihachi had once done to him, and finish dear grandfather off. At one time, he had thought his father must have been truly evil to attempt to kill Heihachi. Now, Jin understood why his father had done that. Jin's lips twisted into a smirk...Like father like son...  
  
Second...there was father. Jin had more reservations with killing his father than he did with Heihachi-Father had given him life, and although he had never been an active parent in Jin's life to say the least, Kazuya had not done anything against him, either. Kazuya could not be all bad -After all, mother had certainly loved him.  
  
Jun had never truly gotten over father's "death." At the time, it was understandable-They had fallen in love, and he had been murdered by his own father in a bloody martial arts tournament. Jin's compassion for his mother had only deepened when he learned the shocking truth a few months ago-that father was alive. How Kazuya had escaped the grave was unknown-but if the rumors he'd heard in Tokyo were true, than his father was alive and well, and headed towards competing in the fourth King of Iron Fist.  
  
That would be disastrous for them both. Jin was planning on entering the fourth King of Iron Fist tournament as well. A fight with grandfather would be hard enough to live through, but a fight with father as well? There would be no way he'd get through both of them, plus all the other opponents he was sure to be facing. But what to do? He had no way of contacting Kazuya, and his father evidently had never cared enough about him to try to find out where had been after the third tournament.  
  
Perhaps Kazuya did not know of his son. After all, even his own mother had not known of her pregnancy when the second tournament had concluded. She had simply, in a state of shock, gone back to her family home in Yakushima, where she could be one with nature and, in time, get over the devastating loss she had sustained.  
  
And that was where he was going now. Home. The last time he had been here was six years ago, the night his mother had died. He had always meant to go back, but the pain had always stayed too fresh in his mind. Once his grandfather had begun training him, Jin had thought of nothing but avenging his mother.  
  
After Heihachi's betrayal, Jin knew Heihachi would attempt to hunt him down, and he knew that for a while, he could not return here. It had taken two years before Heihachi had become desperate enough to call the fourth tournament to draw Jin out. Only now was it safe to return home.  
  
He frowned. Something here was definitely not right. He was almost to the top of the hill and the wary feelings remained. Stubbornly, he persisted on. But he needed only to walk a little further up to see why his senses had screamed so.  
  
What he saw took his breath away. There standing near his mother's grave stood his father, Kazuya Mishima. No wonder his senses had been trying to alert him...What was his father doing here? He couldn't actually be paying his respects to mother, could he? The whole notion was preposterous-In the articles he had read about his father, Kazuya had always been described as cold and aloof. Kazuya could not have cared for his mother only to leave her-after all, where had he been the last sixteen years of his mothers life, when she had cried herself to sleep almost every night, for him?  
  
Jin's anger pulsed through him. How dare he come here and defile this property, after all the pain he'd caused them! Too upset to even think clearly anymore, Jin ran towards his father, determined to kill him.  
  
...In his murderous rage, he was so focused on his task he did not notice the strange tattoo's reappearing on his body, the strange third "eye" on his forehead or even the long, black wings slowly spreading across his back. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Rating: PG-13, for general Tekken storyline info.  
  
"Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it."-George Santayana  
  
Heihachi Mishima glanced about the room, taking it all in. It has been a long time since he had last visited his family's dojo. It was not that the dojo itself was outdated; it was that there were simply too many ghosts in the room to allow proper training.  
  
These days, however, these ghosts were exactly what Heihachi was seeking. So many generations of Mishimas had been trained in this sacred hall, and Heihachi himself was no exception. His father Jinpachi had trained him here and Heihachi had passed the art down to his son, Kazuya in this place as well.  
  
Unlike Heihachi, Kazuya had been a failure from the start of his life. That selfish bastard he had sired had been the greatest mistake of his life. Not only had Kazuya never lived up to his potential, but also the ingrate had dared to attempt to murder Heihachi and seize his father's company. He had insured that he would win the competition between the two of them; Kazuya's demonic powers gave him an edge that Heihachi could not defeat.  
  
After his most embarrassing fall, Heihachi had gone into hiding for two long years to train to defeat Kazuya and kill him-This time, Heihachi would ensure there would be no way for his son to climb back up from the depths Heihachi intended to throw him to. When he emerged in Kazuya's King of the Iron Fist, he had taken the tournament by storm and emerged victorious. By the end of the final match, Kazuya Mishima had died at the hands of his father. At the time, Heihachi could not have been happier; vengeance was his, and the son who had caused him so much trouble was out of his hair for good.  
  
But of course, that bastard had his final victory in the form of his son, Jin. For twenty years, Heihachi worked hard to get rid of the taint that had surrounded his company when Kazuya was in power-and had largely succeeded. He had changed the Mishima Zaibatsu from being the largest corporation in Japan to being the largest corporation in the world. He had donated millions of dollars to charities; feed starving children, kept the peace in war-torn countries, given people who could not afford basic necessities a new chance at life. Twenty years after the King of Iron Fist that had ended Kazuya's life, Heihachi had completely and totally buried Kazuya's ghost. He was nothing more than a memory people whispered about on the streets; an insane man whom had tragically been killed some way or another. No one would ever dare to think that Heihachi had anything to do with his son's passing, and no one dared to call Heihachi anything less than a saint.  
  
Then Kazuya's bastard had literally shown up on his doorstop. How perfect his arrival seemed at the time-A powerful young heir who could be molded into a man who was loyal to Heihachi, and only to Heihachi. For a while, their partnership went well. Jin was a loyal man who asked for nothing but training and a chance to avenge his mother. Heihachi pondered whether he had finally found an heir he could trust. But then Jin became dangerous. Heihachi had seen the demonic lightning Jin could summon. He had seen the same warning signs in Jin's father-the lightning, the quest for vengeance, and otherworldly look they would sometimes possess. Oh, Heihachi knew the signs. Heihachi knew then that the boy would never live to inherit the Mishima Zaibatsu. Heihachi would use him for his own means, and when the boy had ended his usefulness...He would be taken care of.  
  
For the time, however, Jin was infinitely valuable. He was the only person alive who had not only seen, but also fought against the god of fighting that Heihachi was so desperately seeking. His information had been the most important of all the research Heihachi had conducted-Without knowing of Jin's experiences, Heihachi would have never resurrected the King of Iron Fist tournament.  
  
Sometimes, he wished he hadn't. The last King of Iron Fist was meant to give him everything but he had gained very little. His dreams of god-like immortality had been dashed when the Toshin was killed; All that were left of the god of fighting now were fragments-A piece of a hoof here, a little bit of skin there. Jin had managed to destroy it with the cursed lighting that was his families curse, and Heihachi knew that Jin's powers were increasing. Soon the youth would become aware of them, and aware of the power he could wield with them. Heihachi could not take that chance and leave Jin alive. He had learned his lesson long ago.  
  
How ironic that had he not been so rash, had he not been so power-crazed and suspicious, he would not need to call the next King of Iron Fist...He sighed softly. The past was the past, and there was no changing it. Mistakes that had been made could not be undone. It was time to move forward. Soon, if the Tekkenshu who were seeking Kazuya and Jin would find them, and Heihachi would have the devil gene and the immortality it contained in his grasp. However, there was always the change that Kazuya and Jin knew and would stay out of his grasp, somehow...  
  
Therefore, it was time to once again prepare for the King of Iron Fist tournament, where he would have to defeat not only Jin, but perhaps even Kazuya as well. The cards were on the table, and this was the tournament that could usher in the beginning of a new era. It was time to begin training.  
  
Slowly, he stretched out, allowing himself to become relaxed and calm. Although Heihachi was a rich man, he found that he enjoyed the simple pleasures the best, and training was always one of them-Letting go of his troubled mind and becoming part of a higher focus...It never failed, in all this time, to take his breath away. Heihachi closed his eyes and smiled. He loved the dojo; it was the only place in the world he would ever feel at peace.  
  
Suddenly, the door clanged open. Heihachi opened his eyes and looked to see what had caused the disturbance. One of the scientists had run into the dojo, evidently excited about something or other. "Mr. Mishima! Mr. Mishima!"  
  
Heihachi turned to the aide in annoyance. "I ordered my men that I was not to be disturbed."  
  
The aide gulped nervously. "Forgive me, sir! But we've made an amazing discovery! We've..."  
  
"Yes, what is it?"  
  
"We've found them, sir. Both of them." 


End file.
